Housing areas — factors that need to be considered in the site layout and design process

The lack of any particular character in much new low‐rise housing is seen as resulting in the lack of attention paid to the detailing of space between buildings. The landscape architect's role in overcoming “placelessness” is considered, and the information needs of designers is discussed. The paper also offers some notes for the designer on user needs.     

Choice or coercion: dilemmas of sustainable social housing. A study of two developments in Kent

Social housing in the UK is currently required to meet higher levels of sustainability than new private housing, but since social tenants have little choice about their housing, this poses important issues about the possible coerced consumption of sustainable housing. The article examines residents' responses to two social housing developments in Kent in which the housing association concerned took advantage of government subsidies to incorporate sustainability features. The similarities and differences between residents' responses in the two estates are outlined, and are attributed to the types of tenants involved and to the particular technical and administrative features of the innovative features. It is concluded that, given the potential coercive character of the consumption of sustainability features, housing associations need to adopt a sensitive and realistic approach to such innovations and their possible benefits.     

LARGE AREA HYDROLOGIC MODELING AND ASSESSMENT PART I: MODEL DEVELOPMENT1

ABSTRACT: A conceptual, continuous time model called SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) was developed to assist water resource managers in assessing the impact of management on water supplies and nonpoint source pollution in watersheds and large river basins. The model is currently being utilized in several large area projects by EPA, NOAA, NRCS and others to estimate the off-site impacts of climate and management on water use, non-point source loadings, and pesticide contamination. Model development, operation, limitations, and assumptions are discussed and components of the model are described. In Part II, a GIS input/output interface is presented along with model validation on three basins within the Upper Trinity basin in Texas.     

MODELING OF THE GREAT LAKES WATER SYSTEM1

There have been two predominate approaches to the modeling of the Great Lakes water system: physical models and mathematical models. The physical models have been of individual lakes whereas the mathematical models have varied from models of individual processes such as evaporation occurring in one portion of one lake to models which include all water quantity components for all five Great Lakes. The assumptions and limitations of the two approaches are presented along with the kinds of results to be expected from each type of modeling. Examples of previous modeling efforts are given to illustrate these assumptions, limitations, and results. Other areas requiring further research are outlined.     

Climate Change Impacts on Irrigation Water Needs in the jaguaribe River Basin1

Gondim, Rubens S., Marco A.H. de Castro, Aline de H.N. Maia, Sílvio R.M. Evangelista, and Sérgio C. de F. Fuck, Jr., 2012. Climate Change Impacts on Irrigation Water Needs in the Jaguaribe River Basin. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(2): 355‐365. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00620.x Abstract: Climate change is conceptually referred to as a modification to the average of climate variables and their natural variability, due to both natural and anthropogenic driving forces, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change potentially impacts rainfall, temperature, and air humidity, which have relationship with plant evapotranspiration and consequently to irrigation water needs (IWN). The purpose of this research is to assess climate change impacts on irrigation water demand, based on climatic impacts stemming from future greenhouse gas emission scenarios. The study area includes eight municipalities in the Jaguaribe River Basin, located in the Ceará State of semiarid northeast Brazil. The FAO Penman‐Monteith method is used for the calculation of a reference evapotranspiration with limited climatic data. IWN projections are calculated using bias‐corrected climate projections for monthly rainfall and surface temperature derived from the United Kingdom’s Hadley Centre Regional Climate Model simulations. The increase in the average IWN is projected to be 7.9 and 9.1% over the period 2025‐2055 for the A2 and B2 scenarios, respectively with respect to 1961‐1990 baseline.     

Residential satisfaction in council housing

Planners' and architects' knowledge of the needs of users as well as their perceptions of the residential environment, has been commented on in many studies dealing with residential satisfaction. In this study—based on primary research in an area of council housing in Madrid—the main goal is the study of objective and subjective factors, on both physical and social levels, which influence council housing residents' satisfaction. A sample of 447 housewives responded to a questionaire, a multiple regression analysis of which showed that attachment to the neighbourhood and relationships with neighbours explained the greatest variance in residential satisfaction. Some methodological issues about the measurement of residential satisfaction are also discussed.     

Third world sanitation options — the Zambian case

Summary Water-borne sanitation it too expensive to install in low cost urban housing areas in the Third World, and interest has turned to various inexpensive alternative systems. In the Zambian context, such systems must be cheap to install, and require a minimum of maintenance, which must be of low complexity.After examining a wide range of systems, the author concludes that three unlined and three lined toilet types are suitable for trial installation in peripheral and central low cost housing areas respectively. A strategy for conducting tests is outlined and the importance of organisational and community development emphasized.Dr. Dave Todd is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology, in the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Zambia. On behalf of Zambia's National Housing Authority, in 1979, he was Consultant Sociologist to that country'sUrban Sanitation Survey.     

Community environmental action: The plumstead common experience

This paper traces the origins and progress of a small grass-roots local environmental initiative. From the simple desire of a few people to clean up some waste land behind their homes grew the Plumstead Common Environment Group. Working closely with the local Borough Council, the group has obtained funding from English Nature, Shell Better Britain Campaign, the Co-operative Society, local businesses and residents. It has expanded its remit from less than 1 ha to over 50 ha of public open space within an older, high-density housing area in Greater London. The important feature of this project is the balance it manages to achieve between a number of potentially competing needs. These include the needs of local people to have a degree of control over, and be practically involved in, the improvement of their immediate environment; to have feedback in terms of aesthetic improvements; and to conserve/enhance the ecological value of the area. Failure to maintain this balance can undermine the viability of such projects. The ways in which the project has addressed ethical, aesthetic and ecological considerations are outlined, serving as an exemplar of sound community-based environmental practice for urban ecological projects elsewhere.     

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN LAND USE AND URBAN WATER RESOURCES PLANNING1

ABSTRACT The patterns of land use and their relationship to urban water resources are examined from the point of view of population growth, consumer behavior, and preferences of price, income, and land use controls. The changes that need to be made in present social attitudes or water resources laws to satisfy the desired new developments are examined. Several implementation methods that are feasible and effective for changing urban development patterns are considered as well as models for assessing alternate development plans. The needs for research are outlined.     

Focusing biodiversity research on the needs of decision makers

The project on Biodiversity Uncertainties and Research Needs (BURN) ensures the advancement of usable knowledge on biodiversity by obtaining input from decision makers on their priority information needs about biodiversity and then using this input to engage leading scientists in designing policy-relevant research. Decision makers articulated concerns related to four issues: significance of biodiversity; status and trends of biodiversity; management for biodiversity; and the linkage of social, cultural, economic, legal, and biological objectives. Leading natural and social scientists then identified the research required to address the decision makers' needs and determined the probability of success. The diverse group of experts reached consensus on several fundamental issues, helping to clarify the role of biodiversity in land and resource management. The BURN participants identified several features that should be incorporated into policy-relevant research plans and management strategies for biodiversity. Research and assessment efforts should be: multidisciplinary and integrative, participatory with stakeholder involvement, hierarchical (multiple scales), and problem- and region-specific. The activities should be focused regionally within a global perspective. Meta-analysis of existing data is needed on all fronts to assess the state of the science. More specifically, the scientists recommended six priority research areas that should be pursued to address the information needs articulated by decision makers: (1) characterization of biodiversity, (2) environmental valuation, (3) management for sustainability—for humans and the environment (adaptive management), (4) information management strategies, (5) governance and stewardship issues, and (6) communication and outreach. Broad recommendations were developed for each research area to provide direction for research planning and resource management strategies. The results will directly benefit those groups that require biodiversity research to address their needs—whether to develop policy, manage natural resources, or make other decisions affecting biodiversity.     

VARIABILITY IN ADJUSTMENT PREFERENCES TO GROUNDWATER DEPLETION IN THE AMERICAN HIGH PLAINS1

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the adjustments and institutions that residents of the American High Plains prefer in coping with the depletion of the High Plains (Ogallaia) aquifer. The authors identify 48 possible adjustments and report on public preferences for them as determined from a mail survey of 956 respondents in 14 counties. For purposes of analysis, the adjustments are categorized into five groups: user practices, management policies, financial incentives and disincentives, technological fixes, and other. Preferences were also determined among five levels of government to enforce each of the adjustments. Adjustments associated with user conservation practices were generally most preferred while financial incentives and disincentives were least favored. Local groundwater management agencies were the most favored level of institution to administer conservation adjustments followed by the state, county, and federal levels. The most preferred option for 20 adjustments was that no agency should be involved. Respondents in agriculturally related occupations showed less support for water conservation laws and gave greater acceptance to the continuance of existing methods. Irrigators viewed the increasing cost of lifting water as a more serious problem than the depletion of groundwater.     

PERCEPTION OF WATER QUALITY BY SELECT RESPONDENT GROUPINGS IN INLAND WATER-BASED RECREATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS1

ABSTRACT: This paper examines four lake environments which are paired by lake size and by trophic state, where trophic state is employed as an identifier of water quality. Two large lakes and two intermediate-sized lakes, with each pair having one oligotrophic lake and one eutrophic lake are selected for cross-sectional survey-oriented questionnaire research. This paper focuses upon one aspect of the research, namely, the perception of water quality by three user groups. The user groups examined are recreationists, cottage and homeowners, and fishermen. The groups are compared utilizing percentage response profiles and cluster level groupings. It appears from a preliminary analysis of the data that the lakes selected are viable trophic state endpoints for questionnaire analysis of respondents. Each user group surveyed does appear sensitive to select water quality parameters; where shifts in sensitivity appear within and between user groups with changes in ecological settings, as well as with factors independent of ecological settings.     

Development and application of a GIS-based sediment budget model

Accelerated erosion and increased sediment yields resulting from changes in land use are a critical environmental problem. Resource managers and decision makers need spatially explicit tools to help them predict the changes in sediment production and delivery due to unpaved roads and other types of land disturbance. This is a particularly important issue in much of the Caribbean because of the rapid pace of development and potential damage to nearshore coral reef communities. The specific objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a GIS-based sediment budget model; (2) use the model to evaluate the effects of unpaved roads on sediment delivery rates in three watersheds on St. John in the US Virgin Islands; and (3) compare the predicted sediment yields to pre-existing data. The St. John Erosion Model (STJ-EROS) is an ArcInfo-based program that uses empirical sediment production functions and delivery ratios to quantify watershed-scale sediment yields. The program consists of six input routines and five routines to calculate sediment production and delivery. The input routines have interfaces that allow the user to adjust the key variables that control sediment production and delivery. The other five routines use pre-set erosion rate constants, user-defined variables, and values from nine data layers to calculate watershed-scale sediment yields from unpaved road travelways, road cutslopes, streambanks, treethrow, and undisturbed hillslopes. STJ-EROS was applied to three basins on St. John with varying levels of development. Predicted sediment yields under natural conditions ranged from 2 to 7Mgkm(-2)yr(-1), while yield rates for current conditions ranged from 8 to 46Mgkm(-2)yr(-1). Unpaved roads are estimated to be increasing sediment delivery rates by 3-6 times for Lameshur Bay, 5-9 times for Fish Bay, and 4-8 times for Cinnamon Bay. Predicted basin-scale sediment yields for both undisturbed and current conditions are within the range of measured sediment yields and bay sedimentation rates. The structure and user interfaces in STJ-EROS mean that the model can be readily adapted to other areas and used to assess the impact of unpaved roads and other land uses sediment production and delivery.     

The Integrated Pest Management Educator Pilot Project in Boston Public Housing: Results and Recommendations

Abstract

The German cockroach is the most common pest of urban, low-income housing in the United States and is associated with high pesticide use by residents. Cockroach allergen is implicated in asthma exacerbation and initiation and in the growing social and medical aspects of the disease. A safe and secure home environment is an environmental justice issue, and environmentally sound and effective models of cockroach control are needed in public and low-income multifamily housing. One model that offers potential is the integrated pest management (IPM) peer educator model (IPM Educator) in public housing as a component of IPM. A pre–post-analysis of an IPM Educator pilot programme in Boston public housing was undertaken. Thirty-four moderate- to high-infested units received baseline assessment and three applications of gel baits and IPM treatment by a pest control operator. Before the first pest control application, residents received written notice to prepare their units for treatment, a standard procedure. Before the second and third pest control treatments, an IPM Educator instructed residents in basic pest biology and habits, preparation for treatment, and the role of sanitation in pest control. Results showed a significant improvement in rate of preparation for pest control treatment after the IPM Educator intervention when compared with the preparation rate before the education intervention, and a significant reduction in cockroach populations by the third visit in units that were prepared and had improved sanitation, when compared with unprepared units and unclean units. The IPM peer educator is a promising, low-cost model of educating and engaging residents of urban, low-income, multifamily housing in environmentally sound pest control, thereby giving them some power and control over their living environment. It is also a potential source of professional training and jobs for public housing and other low-income housing residents.     

The Integrated Pest Management Educator Pilot Project in Boston Public Housing: Results and Recommendations

The German cockroach is the most common pest of urban, low-income housing in the United States and is associated with high pesticide use by residents. Cockroach allergen is implicated in asthma exacerbation and initiation and in the growing social and medical aspects of the disease. A safe and secure home environment is an environmental justice issue, and environmentally sound and effective models of cockroach control are needed in public and low-income multifamily housing. One model that offers potential is the integrated pest management (IPM) peer educator model (IPM Educator) in public housing as a component of IPM. A pre-post-analysis of an IPM Educator pilot programme in Boston public housing was undertaken. Thirty-four moderate- to high-infested units received baseline assessment and three applications of gel baits and IPM treatment by a pest control operator. Before the first pest control application, residents received written notice to prepare their units for treatment, a standard procedure. Before the second and third pest control treatments, an IPM Educator instructed residents in basic pest biology and habits, preparation for treatment, and the role of sanitation in pest control. Results showed a significant improvement in rate of preparation for pest control treatment after the IPM Educator intervention when compared with the preparation rate before the education intervention, and a significant reduction in cockroach populations by the third visit in units that were prepared and had improved sanitation, when compared with unprepared units and unclean units. The IPM peer educator is a promising, low-cost model of educating and engaging residents of urban, low-income, multifamily housing in environmentally sound pest control, thereby giving them some power and control over their living environment. It is also a potential source of professional training and jobs for public housing and other low-income housing residents.     

Aspects of planning in Scotland: an introductory paper

This paper provides an outline of the development planning and development control systems which operate in Scotland, illustrating that while they share common principles and objectives with the equivalent systems in England and Wales there are a number of important differences both in law and more especially in practice to be appreciated. Future changes are outlined both in relation to the statutory planning system as well as in the broader fields of housing, economic development and the countryside.     

From Management to Negotiation: Technical and Institutional Innovations for Integrated Water Resource Management in the Upper Comoé River Basin, Burkina Faso

This study focuses on the potential role of technical and institutional innovations for improving water management in a multi-user context in Burkina Faso. We focus on a system centered on three reservoirs that capture the waters of the Upper Comoé River Basin and servicing a diversity of users, including a sugar manufacturing company, a urban water supply utility, a farmer cooperative, and other downstream users. Due to variable and declining rainfall and expanding users’ needs, drastic fluctuations in water supply and demand occur during each dry season. A decision support tool was developed through participatory research to enable users to assess the impact of alternative release and diversion schedules on deficits faced by each user. The tool is meant to be applied in the context of consultative planning by a local user committee that has been created by a new national integrated water management policy. We contend that both solid science and good governance are instrumental in realizing efficient and equitable water management and adaptation to climate variability and change. But, while modeling tools and negotiation platforms may assist users in managing climate risk, they also introduce additional uncertainties into the deliberative process. It is therefore imperative to understand how these technological and institutional innovations frame water use issues and decisions to ensure that such framing is consistent with the goals of integrated water resource management.     

User pay financing of stormwater management: A case-study in Ottawa-Carleton, Ontario

Stormwater management upgrade and maintenance costs in the province of Ontario are significant. As capital grant programs decline, municipalities are exploring alternative means for financing the abatement of stormwater quantity and quality problems. User pay financing represents one such option. The economic, institutional and legal issues related to implementing user pay financing of stormwater management in Ontario are addressed using the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (RMOC) as a case-study. The paper reviews the experience with user pay stormwater management programs in Canada and the USA, and recent stormwater issues and financing needs in the RMOC. The presented spreadsheet rate model is based on stormwater quantity and quality considerations and best management practices (BMPs) for various land-use categories. The modelling results vary depending on the inclusion or exemption of certain land-use categories and whether BMPs are implemented. Preliminary results indicate the monthly stormwater user charges are comparable with those charged in USA programs. In Ontario, existing statutes provide the enabling legislation for stormwater user charges, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to implementing them. However, program we start-up costs and public perception could be significant obstacles to instituting user charges.     

Development of a Decision Support System for Assessing Farm Animal Welfare in Relation to Husbandry Systems: Strategy and Prototype

Due to increasing empiricalinformation on farm animal welfare since the1960s, the prospects for sound decisionmakingconcerning welfare have improved. This paperdescribes a strategy to develop adecision-making aid, a decision support system,for assessment of farm-animal welfare based onavailable scientific knowledge. Such a decisionsupport system allows many factors to be takeninto account. It is to be developed accordingto the Evolutionary Prototyping Method, inwhich an initial prototype is improved inreiterative updating cycles. This initialprototype has been constructed. It useshierarchical representations to analysescientific statements and statements describingthe housing system. Welfare is assessed fromwhat is known about the biological needs of theanimals, using a welfare model in the form of atree that contains these needs as welfarecomponents. Each state of need is assessedusing welfare relevant attributes of thehousing system and weighting factors.Attributes are measurable properties of thehousing system. Weighting factors are assignedaccording to heuristic rules based on theprinciple of weighting all components(attributes and needs) equally, unless thereare strong reasons to do otherwise. Preliminarytests of the prototype indicate that it may bepossible to perform assessment of farm-animalwelfare in an explicit way and based onempirical findings. The procedure needs to berefined, but its prospects are promising.